The Jerk Magnet

Just when Chelsea felt like she’d gained a somewhat secure position in Janelle’s life, almost best friend status, Lishia Vance returned from her summer vacation. Lishia, it seemed, was Janelle’s real best friend. This was only alluded to when Janelle suddenly became unavailable because she was with Lishia, then soundly driven home when Janelle brought Lishia over to meet Chelsea.

With just days before school was scheduled to begin, the three girls were hanging by the pool, like Chelsea assumed friends might do, but Lishia seemed determined to turn their conversation into some sort of competition between her and Chelsea. Every time Chelsea said anything, no matter how trivial, it felt like Lishia had to say something better to top her. Like Lishia thought someone was keeping score. Even when Chelsea casually mentioned to Janelle that a new shipment of designer jeans had just arrived at Best 4 Less, she was cut off mid-sentence.

“Oh, Chelsea,” Lishia gushed, “you should see the clothes my grandmother got me when we were in New York City.” Off she went describing each individual item of clothing in painstaking detail. Chelsea didn’t even think the clothes sounded that great, not to her anyway. But the most aggravating part was that when Lishia talked, which was often, it felt like Chelsea wasn’t even there . . . or was invisible. Even when she stood and picked up their empty drink glasses and went into the house, no one seemed to notice.

Chelsea puttered around in the house for a bit. She didn’t want to seem like a rude hostess, but how much was she expected to take from Lishia? Finally Janelle and Lishia came inside.

“Thanks for letting us come over,” Janelle told her.

Chelsea forced a smile. “Sure . . . anytime.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Lishia said halfheartedly.

“Lishia’s mom’s picking her up in a few minutes,” Janelle said.

“She promised to take us to the mall.” Lishia tugged on Janelle’s arm. “Come on, we better hurry if we want to get changed.”

Janelle gave Chelsea an apologetic glance. Chelsea just smiled like it was no problem. “Have fun,” she called out as they left. But after they were gone, she felt like crying. A hard lump grew in her throat, and she remembered what Virginia had done to her. Even though it was so long ago, it felt familiar and close now. As she wiped down the kitchen countertops, that old loneliness settled on her like a damp, gray cloud.

She poured soap into the dishwasher and reminded herself that she had God in her life now. He was her new best friend. She’d been praying to him too. God would get her through this. But as she turned the dishwasher on, she wondered—if Janelle and Lishia were Christians (since they were part of the youth group), didn’t that mean they should act differently? Or was Chelsea just assuming things? She felt confused as she picked up some newspapers and tidied up the great room. How were Christians supposed to act? How was she supposed to act? Was there someone to ask or some kind of guidebook somewhere?

She went back outside to check on the pool chemicals and do some vacuuming. Dad had made it clear from the get-go that keeping the pool clean was her job, and she took it seriously. She didn’t mind the work, especially now when she needed something to distract her from feeling left out. She was trying to untwist the pool’s vacuum hose when she noticed Dayton waving to her from the top of the wall between their properties.

“Need any help over there?” he called.

She shrugged. “I’m okay.”

He hopped down onto her side. “You’re more than okay,” he said, coming over. Leaning over the surface of the pool, he reached out to grab and untangle the hose, and without even asking, he started to help her. He chatted congenially as he assisted her in cleaning the pool and moving things around as they scrubbed the surrounding deck. To her surprise, she enjoyed his company. It seemed some of his previous cockiness had disappeared. In fact, he was almost polite.

“You seem different today,” she told him as they were stowing tools back in the pool shed. “Nicer.”

He chuckled. “Probably because Janelle’s not here.”

“You really don’t like her?” Chelsea studied his expression.

He shrugged. “She’s probably okay, but she and some of the other academics can be, you know, a little obnoxious.”

“I suppose you and your friends are never obnoxious.”

He grinned. “I guess some might think we are.”

“Well, at least you’re honest.” She closed the door to the shed. “Thanks for your help.”

“No problem.” He cocked his head to one side. “So what do you think? Would you be interested in doing something with me?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know . . . like go grab a burger or something?”

She considered this. She actually was hungry. “You mean right now?”

His eyes lit up. “Sure. I haven’t even had lunch yet. How about heading to Bergdorf Burgers?”

“Bergdorf Burgers?”

“Yeah.”

“Do they make designer burgers?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Bernie Bergdorf opened it a couple years ago. And it’s pretty good. You in?”

“Okay, but how do we get there?”

“I’ll drive us.”

She remembered what Dad had told her about California’s driving law. “But I thought teens weren’t allowed to drive other teens unless—”

He grinned. “I just turned eighteen.”

“So you’re legal?”

He nodded. “Totally legal.”

She realized she was still in her swimsuit. Fortunately, it wasn’t the bikini this time. “Let me run and change.”

He looked slightly disappointed. “Not on my account.”

She rolled her eyes. “On my account.”

“Okay. I’ll get my car and come around to pick you up. Like ten minutes?”

“Perfect.”

He looked surprised. “Really?”

“Sure, why not?”

“I, uh, I just never knew a girl who could get ready in ten minutes.”

She stuck out her hand. “Well, you met one now.”

“Cool!”

She hurried inside, wondering if she really could get ready in ten minutes. In the old days, no problem . . . but now? Still, it was a fun test, and it eliminated the chance to be too choosy, which in some ways felt good. She pulled on some khaki shorts and a white T-shirt, ran a brush through her hair, and put on a little lip gloss and mascara. As she shoved her feet into her sandals, she thought that Dayton could take her or leave her—really, it made no difference since she wasn’t that into him. Oh, there was no denying that his attention was flattering, but she had no interest in getting involved with a sports jock.

When she went outside to where Dayton was standing next to a shiny blue late-model Mustang, she thought he looked like a cliché. But when he grinned at her like he thought she looked like a million bucks, she had to wonder—maybe Dayton had more going on than she realized. Anyway, what was the harm in finding out?

“I never saw a chick eat like you do,” he told her as she polished off her burger.

She wasn’t sure if she should be offended or not.

“No offense.” He held up his hands. “I mean, I like it.”

“Oh.” She nodded and reached for a fry. “Well, I was hungry. I kind of skimped on breakfast, then I swam laps this morning and—”

“You swam laps?” He looked surprised.

“Sure. I do most mornings. It’s good exercise.”

“Yeah, I know.” He looked at her like he was trying to figure her out. “I just never knew a girl like that.”

She laughed. “You mean one who’s not afraid to eat good food or swim laps?”

He was still studying her. “Uh-huh.”

She considered confessing all to him, then stopped herself. Really, what difference did it make? Especially when it seemed that he liked her as she was.

As they continued to talk, it seemed that he had dropped his previous facade and even admitted that he was worried about getting into a good college next year. “My mom is all sure that I can get an athletic scholarship, but I know that’s probably not going to happen—not at a big school anyway. I might act like I’m all that, but I’m aware that guys like me are easy to come by.”

“You never know.”

He shrugged. “I’ve got a feeling. Plus I know my grades aren’t real impressive. Probably because I’ve been more focused on sports than books.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it?”

“What?” He looked curious.

“How high school doesn’t really get us ready for what’s out there. And then we turn eighteen and we’re supposed to figure it out for ourselves.”

He nodded. “Yeah, and I’m already eighteen. Who knows where I’ll be a year from now.” He nodded toward the kitchen. “I could be in there flipping burgers. I’d probably have to work full time just to pay for my car.”

“You bought the car yourself?” For some reason, she’d assumed it was a gift.

“My dad got it for me when I turned sixteen. I know it’s because my parents divorced when I was a kid and my dad’s trying to make up for some stuff. But he made it clear to me that unless I take over all the payments and insurance and everything after I graduate, I’ll have to say adios to the Mustang.” He sighed. “It’s a sweet little ride.”

“Too bad.”

He shook his head like he was trying to wake up. “Sorry! I don’t know why I’m going on about all that depressing biz. Man, you probably won’t ever want to go out with me again.”

She felt guilty now, thinking how she hadn’t wanted to go out with him in the first place. “I’ve enjoyed this,” she told him. “I like it when people aren’t afraid to just be themselves.” Of course, she felt somewhat hypocritical since she was getting so used to keeping her own guard up. But that was different.

“That’s cool.” He nodded. “Maybe that’s why I like you.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, that and because you’re easy on the eyes.” He grinned.

“This has been fun.” She set her wadded-up napkin in the burger basket and smiled.

“Fun enough that you’d do it again?”

She pressed her lips together. “Maybe so.”

As they rode home, Dayton asked if Janelle had told her about Riley yet.

“Who?”

“Riley Atkins. She used to be my girlfriend. I figured Janelle might’ve blabbed to you about her.”

“No, she didn’t mention it.”

“Well, Riley and I went out for most of last year. She broke up with me right after prom. Some of my buddies said she only stayed with me to go to the stupid dance.” He shrugged. “Maybe they’re right.”

“Oh.”

“Riley is full of herself, like the world revolves around her—or like it should. I mean, just because a girl is pretty and popular doesn’t mean she should treat everyone else like—” His speech degenerated into some pretty coarse language. After a bit he seemed to notice that Chelsea wasn’t responding, and he looked slightly embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go on like that. But if I get to thinking or talking about that girl . . . well, I just can’t help myself.”

“It’s hard when people hurt you.”

“I guess. And I know Riley’s not worth feeling bad over. But with school starting . . . well, I’m not looking forward to seeing her.”

Chelsea could relate to this. She knew it was totally different, but she vividly remembered how she felt whenever September rolled around, how much she hated returning to school. She’d even begged to be homeschooled a couple of times. “Well, fortunately for you, I’m sure you have lots of other friends.”

He nodded, then turned to look at her. “But you’re new at school. Do you know anyone besides Janelle?”

“Her friend Lishia.”

Dayton made a sour face.

Chelsea chuckled. “And Lishia doesn’t seem to like me much.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Why?” She felt defensive. “I was perfectly nice to her.”

“That’s not it. You know how girls can be.”

Okay, now he had her. She wasn’t sure she did know. Oh, she’d known at one point, sort of . . . but that was a long time ago.

“Girls can be so petty and jealous. Riley and her friends were always competing—over everything. I swear they’re worse than guys sometimes. Except they’re all quiet about it. They sugarcoat it or else they talk behind each other’s backs. It’s seriously twisted.”

Chelsea laughed. “Yes, I do know what you mean.”

“But you don’t seem like that.”

“Thanks. That’s how I hope to keep it.”

He pulled up to her house. “If you need a ride to school or anything—I mean, I have practice afterwards, so I couldn’t bring you home. But if you needed a ride, like even on the first day, I’d be more than willing to pick you up.”

“Thanks. I might take you up on that offer.”

“Do you think you’d be interested in doing anything this weekend?” He looked hopeful.

“Maybe so. Although I’m not sure what my dad’s plans are . . . or if he has any.” Despite her initial resolve, she gave Dayton her phone number. It wasn’t that she was crushing on him or anything like that, but he seemed like a pretty nice guy—underneath his star quarterback veneer. As she got out of the car and waved at him, she realized she no longer cared what Janelle thought of him. After all, Janelle had Lishia.





The first week of school was nothing like Chelsea had expected. For starters, everyone seemed to assume that she was Dayton Moore’s new girlfriend. Now, while Chelsea hadn’t done anything to squelch this rumor, she wasn’t exactly comfortable with it either. But hanging with Dayton seemed preferable to being friendless and alone. Thanks to Lishia, Janelle seemed to be keeping Chelsea at arm’s length.

Even though Chelsea had followed Janelle’s suggestion from a couple weeks ago to sign up for drama, and even though she had that class with Janelle, it seemed that Janelle was determined to treat Chelsea like she was contagious.

“Excuse me,” Chelsea finally said to Janelle on Friday afternoon. They were going into the auditorium at the same time, the location of their drama class. “I think maybe we’ve met before.”

Janelle’s brows arched. “You’re talking to me?”

Chelsea continued her little charade. “Yes, you seem rather familiar. Do you perhaps live in the same neighborhood?”

Janelle seemed honestly surprised. “Huh?”

“Why have you been acting like this?” Chelsea quietly asked her.

“Me?” Janelle gave her an innocent look.

Chelsea shrugged. “Oh, I suppose it was me snubbing you. Right?”

Janelle nodded like she honestly believed this nonsense.

“Are you serious?”

“Let’s take the seats back there.” Janelle pointed to the seats in the rear of the auditorium where the class met.

Once they were seated, Chelsea continued trying to get to the bottom of Janelle’s snooty behavior, but the more they talked, the more it seemed obvious that Janelle had been thinking the exact same things about Chelsea.

“But what have I done?” Chelsea demanded. “I smile and say hi to you, and you act like you’re blind and deaf or you—”

“Because I know you’re just pretending to be nice.”

“Pretending?” Chelsea stared at her. “What are you—”

“Now that you’ve got your new hoity-toity set of friends, you’re too high and mighty for me and my friends and—”

“That is so not true!”

“Lishia told me how you snubbed her in English—”

“I have never snubbed her!” Chelsea seethed. “But she’s snubbed me ever since I first met her. Even that day at my house when she—”

“Excuse me up there in the back row.” Mr. Valotti waved from the stage. “Why don’t you two girls bring your discussion down here to the stage for everyone to hear?”

“Sorry,” Janelle called back.

Chelsea just nodded.

“No, I mean it,” he insisted, “you two girls come down here, please.”

Chelsea and Janelle exchanged glances, then got up. Amid comments and teasing from the rest of the class, they made their way down the stairs and onto the stage.

“Sorry about that,” Chelsea mumbled to the teacher.

He smiled at her. “Remind me of your name.”

“Chelsea Martin.”

“You’re a new student, right?”

She just nodded.

“Have you been in any productions before?”

“Just behind the scenes.” She briefly explained her minor responsibilities at her previous drama classes.

“That’s great to hear,” he said, “because I usually expect new students to learn the ropes, so to speak, by working on lights, makeup, and costumes. But since you’ve already been there and done that, I’m sure you’ll have no problems with auditioning.”

“Auditioning?”

“For a role in our fall production.”

“Oh.” She glanced nervously at Janelle.

“As you all know,” he said loudly to everyone, “we’re doing The Man Who Came to Dinner for our fall play. As usual, it’s not a musical. We’ll wait until spring for that.” He nodded to the stacks of scripts piled on the edge of the stage. “For those of you who plan to audition, come on up here and get a script.” He looked back at Chelsea. “You get one too. I want you to audition for the role of Maggie.”

“Maggie?”

“Are you familiar with this play?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“That’s fine. You will be.” He turned to Janelle. “I’m not sure which role you’ll want to audition for, but I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Now if everyone will begin finding their seats, I will tell you a bit about this charming old play, which is fun for Christmas. For anyone who’s unfamiliar with the story, you’re invited to join me to watch the 1942 film version after school today at 3:30.”

Chelsea and Janelle found new seats, not in the back this time, and listened as Mr. Valotti discoursed on the play and how it was produced first on the stage, later by Hollywood, and finally on television.

“Are you going to watch the video today?” Janelle asked Chelsea as class ended.

“I think so.”

“Me too.”

“Do you want to finish our conversation?” Chelsea asked a bit tentatively.

Janelle nodded, and they agreed to meet after school and go to the movie together.

They were just turning toward the math department when Dayton stopped Chelsea. “Hey, you never told me if you’re coming to the game tonight or not.” He smiled hopefully. “You will come, won’t you?”

She explained about the movie after school.

“When will it get done?”

“I assume it’s a couple hours. Like 5:30 maybe?”

“Want me to pick you up then?”

“Sure, that’d be great.”

“The varsity game doesn’t start until eight. But if you want to ride with me, we’ll have to go early. You’ll have to watch part of the JV game.”

She wanted to point out that she hadn’t committed to going to the game yet. “I need to get to class,” she said as the warning bell rang.

“See you around 5:30 then, in front of the school.”

Janelle gave Chelsea a doubtful look, as if she questioned her judgment. Chelsea simply smiled and said she’d see her later. As she headed for class, she caught Dayton’s ex-girlfriend, Riley Atkins, dressed in her blue and red cheerleader’s uniform and scowling at her. It wasn’t the first time this had happened either. For whatever reason, it seemed that she now resented Chelsea, which was hard to imagine since Riley had been the one to break up with Dayton. Plus she didn’t even know Chelsea.

As Chelsea slipped into a desk, she realized that all she wanted was a friend. Just one loyal and good and dependable friend. She knew that God was her friend, and that was great, but someone wearing skin would be nice too. Ironically, it seemed the only available and willing candidate was Dayton. Every time she turned around, he was there. Ready with a friendly smile, encouraging word, or a needed ride, Dayton came through. Even if his motives were selfish—and she had no doubt that sometimes they were—it was still a comfort to know he was there for her.

After school, she and Janelle got sodas and slowly walked over to where Mr. Valotti planned to show the movie. As they walked, they talked, and the more Janelle talked, the more Chelsea began to suspect that Lishia had been very manipulative.

“I kind of thought you might be using me this summer,” Janelle finally said, “but when school started, it seemed pretty obvious.”

“What seems obvious is that Lishia wants to make sure I don’t come between you and her.” Chelsea sighed. “I can’t really blame her. Good friends are hard to come by. But even if you don’t have room for another friend in your life, and even if Lishia can’t stand me, which I suspect is the case, it would still be nice not to feel like I’m your enemy.” Chelsea felt a lump in her throat.

“Is that how you feel?”

Chelsea shrugged. “Kind of. I mean, you’ve pretty much been ignoring me.”

“I just thought you were so busy with Dayton.” Janelle shook her head. “And to be honest, I can’t figure that out. Dayton is such a—”

“Dayton has been a friend to me. Just about the only one I have.”

“But you know what he’s after, don’t you?”

“Of course. I know he wants this relationship to turn into something more than what I want.”

Janelle looked confused. “Meaning you don’t consider yourself his girlfriend?”

Chelsea laughed. “No. And Dayton knows that.”

Janelle’s expression was skeptical.

Chelsea decided to tell Janelle about the commitment she’d made to God at the concert. “I don’t know exactly what that means, but I’d like to get more involved in a youth group. I’d hoped maybe yours, but now I’m thinking I might not be welcome there. I asked Dayton if he ever went to church, and he just laughed. But he said he might go to church if I took him. That’s pretty funny considering I don’t even have a church to go to. Talk about the blind leading the blind.”

Janelle looked truly stunned. To Chelsea’s surprise, she hugged her. “I’m so sorry, Chelsea. I’ve been a totally rotten friend to you. Please forgive me!”

Chelsea hugged her back. “I just think you got influenced by someone who doesn’t really know me.” They stepped back and looked at each other. “I’m not saying that Lishia purposely maligned me . . .” Of course, she wasn’t going to say that Lishia hadn’t either.

“Lishia has always been kind of jealous.”

“I meant what I said before,” Chelsea reminded her. “I don’t want to replace Lishia. I respect that you two are best friends. I’d just like to be your friend too.”

“You are my friend, Chelsea.”

“Hey, friends,” Mr. Valotti said cheerfully, “how about coming in for the film?”

Chelsea smiled at him. “That’s why we’re here.”

“I’ll be curious to see what you think of Maggie. She’s played by Bette Davis.”

“Bette Davis?” Chelsea said, feeling more interested now.

“You know who that is?”

“Of course.” Chelsea nodded. “I love Bette Davis.”

“You do?” He looked dubious.

“All About Eve is one of my favorite old movies.”

“Really?” he said. “That’s a great classic.”

Suddenly they were talking about Bette Davis and old movies, and Janelle was looking at Chelsea with a mixed expression of curiosity and concern. When Mr. Valotti invited Chelsea to sit next to him, she urged Janelle to sit on the other side. As the movie played, he quietly pointed several things out to them.

“See that fire in her eye,” he whispered to Chelsea. “That’s what you’ll need to capture to carry out that role. She’s a spicy one.”

Janelle gently elbowed Chelsea, but when Chelsea turned to look at her, Janelle’s eyes were fixed on the screen and her arms were folded across her front as if she were irked about something.

To Chelsea’s surprise, Mr. Valotti asked her to remain and discuss the part of Maggie after the movie ended. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “My ride is probably waiting for me.” She smiled. “Another time, okay?”

“Okay.” He nodded and smiled.

Chelsea hurried to catch up with Janelle. “What’s the hurry?”

“Too hot and heavy in there.” Janelle shook her head.

“Huh?”

“I can’t believe Mr. Valotti was flirting with you.”

“What?” Chelsea grabbed Janelle by the forearm, stopping her in her tracks.

Janelle looked directly into her eyes. “You seriously didn’t get that?”

“No.” Chelsea shook her head. “I think you’re imagining things.”

“Oh, Chelsea, you are so oblivious.”

“I thought we were going to be friends.” Chelsea felt blindsided again. “Why are you saying things like that? Don’t you know it hurts?”

“I said that because I think it’s the truth. And friends tell each other the truth, right?” They began walking again.

“Well, here’s my truth, Janelle. What you just said is insulting to me. It’s like you think I’m a slut or—”

“No, no, you don’t get it. It’s not you, Chelsea. Not exactly anyway. It’s the guys who are being jerks. But it’s like you send out some signal . . . like what I said before. You’re a jerk magnet.”

Chelsea looked over her shoulder, then spoke quietly. “So are you saying Mr. Valotti is a jerk?”

Janelle pressed her lips together and slowly shook her head. “You know, I’d heard rumors, but until today I’d never actually seen anything. Now I’m starting to wonder.”

“Oh, Janelle.” Chelsea felt disappointed. “I can’t believe you’d say that.”

“I’m serious.”

They were at the front door, and Dayton’s car was already waiting. “Do you need a ride?” Chelsea asked.

“With Dayton?” Janelle laughed loudly. “No way. My mom’s picking me up. But we can give you a ride.”

Chelsea waved at Dayton. “Thanks, but since Dayton made the effort to come get me, the least I can do is ride with him. Another time, okay?”

“What does your dad think of Dayton?”

Chelsea shrugged. “He’s fine with him. I mean, they barely met the other day. Why?”

“Just curious.”

Chelsea paused with one hand on the door. “So . . . we’re still friends then?”

“Absolutely.” Janelle nodded. “But as your friend, I will tell you the truth. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll try to do it more gently though.”

“I’d appreciate that.” Chelsea told her goodbye, then jogged out to get in the car.

“How was the flick?” Dayton asked as she buckled her seat belt.

“Pretty cute.” She told him about how she wanted to try out for a part. “Mr. Valotti thinks I can do it.”

Dayton tossed a sideways glance at her. “Is Mr. Valotti coming on to you?”

She laughed nervously. “Of course not. Why would you say that?”

“Because that man has a reputation.”

She brushed this off, but she was starting to wonder.